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Headfones (pg. 86)
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| Zombie0729 |
hey i wouldn't normally post in here but it's worth mentioning that i had my pioneer hdj 1000's since 2003... and they just the bed last weekend. well over 4yrs old. thats impressive.
i'd buy them again if i wasn't so in love with akg products :) |
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| EvilTree |
This is a little guide I wrote for the n00bs for my local DJing club.
Let me know if I'm missing anything.
This is just to give you an idea what to look for in a headphone, and everyone has their own preferences. Headphones are about the next thing that's personal to a DJ other than what kind of music he plays.
First thing to consider is the sound quality. Every headphone will sound a little different to others, and this will affect your choice. Generally, more crisper the sound, better it is. It is harder to distinguish between each part of the tune with muddier sound from headphones.
Like EQing, some headphones will emphasis one part of the tune more than the others. For example, Senn HD25 has very distinct and crispy highs, but does not emphasis the mids as much. Other headphones might emphasis the bass (such as Technics RP1200s).
There are what's called 'studio headphones' or 'monitoring headphones' that are designed for studio use, such as producing. These headphones will not emphasis the bass but focus more on the highs and the mids. (Such as Sony MDR 7506 and Senn HD280)
Your choice of headphone should reflect what element of a tune you want to hear the best. Some people prefer to beatmatch with highs, so buys a studio headphones to hear the highs better. Others like the bass so buys headphones with nice bass.
Next for consideration is sound isolation, meaning how much outside noise the headphone will block out. Generally bigger the earpiece means the earpiece will enclose all of your ears. However, if you have smaller ears, you don't need a big earpiece to enclose all of your ear.
A good way to test how good of a sound isolation your headphone provides is hook up the headphone to a mixer and play a tune. Gently press the two earpiece together. Can you hear the tune being played? If no, then you have a decent set of headphones.
Another test I like to do is to take your headphones out to normal city environment on an mp3 player. With the music being played at moderate volume, how much outside noise can you hear? Less is better, of course.
Sound isolation is very important because in a club environment, with the monitors and club noises can be very loud, you want to be able to concentrate on beatmatching or whatever without distraction. A headphone with poor sound isolation means more you want to crank up the volume so that you can hear the music from the mixer to drown out the outside noise. This mean more chance of you damaging your ears with loud noise, so take care in your choice!
Comfort should also be taken into consideration. When wearing the headphones, it should feel snug, but not loose or too restrictive. The length of headphones should be adjustable to ensure fit according to the size of your head. You should be able to wear your headphones for extended period of time without feeling extended discomfort. However, new headphones do need to be broken in and once they are broken in, they should feel more comfortable on your head.
Another minor consideration is how it feels on your neck. Headphones with large earpieces and you have short neck means when you take off the headphones to listen to the monitors for a sec, the earpieces gets in the way. This might annoy some people.
Next is durability. This is really hard to tell because even the most sturdy looking headphones might snap any second. This is where you might have to look to take in other people's opinions on durability. Some headphones have a reputation of snapping often, while others last longer. So buying a brand new spiffy headphones only to have it snap annoys people. Ensure when you buy your headphones, how long the warranty is and what is covered under the warranty.
Another minor consideration is whether there are replacement parts available for the headphone. Some headphones have easily removable padding in case they get worn out and need replacement. Other minor consideration is whether the headphone has an 1/8" jack and needs a 1/4" jack adapter (standard for most mixers) and whether it is 1/4" only. Also whether it comes with a 1/4" jack or not.
Last thing is the price. More expensive does not necessarily mean it's the headphone for you. One of the most popular headphone is Sony MDR 7506 and it only cost around $175 has been industry standard for over 20 years. However, you should look to spend at least $150, as anything that cost cheaper than that tends to be really shoddy quality, esp in durability and sound quality. Most headphones cost $200.
Generally I'm against buying used headphones because you don't know how good the previous owner took care of his headphone. As well, the warranty might have expired, in which you can't get money back if your headphones break. |
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| inconspicuous |
Finally got around to picking up some new ones (I'd been relying on my shures for a while), and decided to give the 7506s a try. Not the most comfortable things for somebody with a large head, as the band does squeeze down a bit much, despite having plenty of room on the sides. The cups are great, though, and there's definitely a lot to be said for the lightness. With regard to sound quality, the technics I had before don't even compare to these. I'd still like to give the hd-25s a try, but for half the price, these do an excellent job. I can definitely see why people rave about them. I'd still much prefer a split band, and the exposed cabling concerns me, but that's what [free, because the guy @ guitar center forgot to ask me if I wanted it] service plans are for. I've never been a huge fan of the supra-aural feel, in general, so even if the sennheisers do sound much better, I may stick with these, anyway.
overall: great
a few tweaks could make them more comfortable & convenient, but they blow the other similarly priced cans out of the water (and seem to be the only such ones without fisher price parts). sure, there are better sounding headphones, but who wants to bring a pair of grados or hd-600s out of the house? Good show. |
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| the_gamemaster |
| The Sony's arent the nicest looking headphones though are they? Look really old fashioned. |
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| tvmann |
I just did some comparison listening with my friends new Grado SR60 (the entry-level normal-size Grado phone) and my 4 year old Sennheiser HD280.
Conclusion: The Grado has more bass and a more fun sound. Sounds aprox the same as the Sennheiser in the mid and high frequencies. About the same volume level.
Maybe my Sennheisers are getting a bit worn out, or maybe it is that they are more a studio-monitor type headphone with flat frequency response, compared to the Grado which is designed for general listening and possibly has the bass boosted a little to give it a more pleasant sound.
Isolation from external sound is not good with the Grado as it is an open design and goes on top of the ear (supra-aural), compared to the closed and around the ear (circumaural) design of the Senn HD280 which reduces external sound 30 db.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones
I would consider using the Grado for DJ practice at home or DJing in less-noisy places, because they make the music sound pretty good and they're not expensive.
Has anyone compared the sound of the Grado SR60 with the Sony 7506 (which seems to be the current DJ favorite in this forum).
EDIT - thanks to Gluegun (in post below) for the cool headphone.com chart link which compares the Sennheiser HD25, Grado SR60, and Senn HD280 (confirms that bass HD25 > SR60 > HD280):
click here to see graph:
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCo...3&graphID[]=189 |
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| IpLaYWiTLiGhTs |
Time for some new cans.
HD-25's seem to the choice of many...but looking at websites, there's two to choose from. Which is the best?
HD-25
HD-25SP |
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| Gluegun |
| quote: | Originally posted by IpLaYWiTLiGhTs
Time for some new cans.
HD-25's seem to the choice of many...but looking at websites, there's two to choose from. Which is the best?
HD-25
HD-25SP |
The SP's are the cheaper, worse version... |
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| wotyzoid |
| so I got a gig 2 weeks from now and I'll have the money to get headphoes. I want v6's with the bayerdynamic pads gluegun suggested. But this has been bothering me for a while, does anyone have any thoughts on the ultrasone's VonStroke uses. He seems to be the only big name using them, anyone ever tried them? |
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| Gluegun |
| quote: | Originally posted by wotyzoid
so I got a gig 2 weeks from now and I'll have the money to get headphoes. I want v6's with the bayerdynamic pads gluegun suggested. But this has been bothering me for a while, does anyone have any thoughts on the ultrasone's VonStroke uses. He seems to be the only big name using them, anyone ever tried them? |
Ultrasone is a good company, but some of their models aren't good for DJ's. Check www.headphone.com for their suggestions. They have a good guide for DJ's. |
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| wotyzoid |
| Thanks so much. I can't find the dj guide but I'm reading the review for the dj1 pro. |
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